Abbreviated perfume & fragrance reviews from one man's perspective

New Release: Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M

WHAT I SMELL: Geisha Vanilla Hinoki opens with a bright bergamot that’s soon met with an exotic blend of lightly sweetened spices; which then quickly moves to more of a sweet and sour spiciness. There is something that is rather familiar to me in the opening and the only thing that I can think of is Lemon Pledge without the full on “lemon.” But that soon dissipates and the perfume begins to soften, but I still can’t get out of my head this association of some kind of cleaning wipe, be it a much more subtle and softer one. After 10 minutes or so, a lightly sugared lavender comes to the forefront along with a bit of creaminess. The cleaning wipe is now gone and you now have this really soft and comforting perfume that is topped with a bit of sugar and spice and it’s oh so very nice. As the perfume continues to develop, it becomes more woody with lavender becoming more powdered and radiant. At this point, the perfume has a rather masculine barber shop vibe and it reminds me of the paper neck wrap that old school barbers put on you prior to cutting your hair. Geisha Vanilla Hinoki is all warm fuzzies to me at this point. As the perfume continues to develop, the barber shop association really takes hold and the perfume begins to grow and become slightly smoky. In the end, Geisha Vanilla Hinoki is all comfort. Very nice.

Vanilla scents tend to have a cloying, candied effect. But not Vanilla Hinoki. Its key ingredient is a woodsy, smoky vanilla found only in Morocco.

As for the other ingredients: They kick off with light and sparkling bergamot combined with spicy, wake-up clove, cardamom, and nutmeg. These segue into more soothing mid-notes: cedarleaf, soft bergamot, and lavender. And finally the lingering drydown: exotic, animalic leather; incense-like patchouli; tropical, evergreen amyris; and cleansing, envigorating cedarwood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: An old school barber shop; very comfortable, easy and relaxing.

BOTTOM LINE: Maybe you need to be a man from my generation when barber shops were where you got your hair cut, not Great Cuts. There was a very comfortable masculinity in the atmosphere that was laid back without any stress. You went in feeling a bit messy and you left feeling like a million bucks. Geisha Vanilla Hinoki brings back all the sensory aspects of this now fading business.

16 thoughts on “New Release: Geisha Vanilla Hinoki by Aroma M”

When I first smelled this on paper strip at Twistes Lily, I barely smelled anything. I asked for a sample and tried it on skin and there was definitely something comforting and lightly sweetish about this. It was definitely not instant love but I can see its appeal. The bottle looked great in pictures but in-person, the vibrant colors were just from a paper wrap around the bottle and not printed on the glass. Nice review!

I wanted to try this but the more reviews I read the more I think it’s just not for me. Maybe hubby would like it but it sounds like it would smell like something my dad would have worn. That’s not a bad thing it just isn’t my thing. It’s probably too soft for me too. My skin would chew it up and spit it out.

Ricky, lavender and I have a love / hate relationship. I can enjoy it when it’s not overblown. Here it’s rather tame and quiet which makes it much more appealing in my book. I hope you get a chance to try it.

I have a bottle of the EdP. It’s quite gorgeous and very deceptive, keeping the body sensually perfumed for hours. I wish I had ordered the oil at the same time as it is equally as beautiful. (I’m gonna get it anyway, layered it’s a bomb!)
❤️🍪👑

I have always loved those old-school barber shops!
I’m looking forward to trying this one – it sounds like something that would continue to pique my interest over its development. Thanks for another fantastic review!

I have been enjoying a sample Val gave me for the past few days, and I get different facets each time – I can see the barbershop analogy now you mention it, but considering I don’t like lavender, I am enjoying this one an awful lot! 😉 Warm fuzzies is definitely where it’s at!